Spindle City Historic Society Volume 9 Issue 4 Winter 2006 HISTORIAN’S NOTEBOOK DID YOU KNOW The Old Cohoes Burying Ground ….that the median income in 1941 was $2000?

West End Park, located on the northern side of Columbia ….that when butter was rationed during World War II, Street and characterized by the familiar and imposing oleomargarine was the substitute? It was white in color, so Soldiers and Sailors Monument, was once a cemetery. a yellow colorant was included with the margarine which Established in 1846, it was originally farmland given was mixed in to give it a shade resembling butter. by the Lansing family to the Cohoes Company to serve as ….that in the 1940s teenagers became significant trend- a burial place that promised “restful and perpetual solitude setters in American society? From fashion, with saddle at the end of life’s journey.” But within ten years, Cohoes shoes, multiprint skirts and pegged pants, to dances like residents were complaining that the grounds were not the jitterbug, to the music of Frank Sinatra, popular properly maintained. Under continual and severe criticism culture was shaped by the interests and enthusiasms of this the Company turned the cemetery over to the Village. As age group, a trend that would continue in decades to come. the years progressed, the cemetery conditions did not ….that in 1940, a new DeSoto cost $701, and gasoline improve much and it eventually became a potter’s field. was 19 cents a gallon? Then, as a result of the economic prosperity of the Civil War, the industries in Cohoes began to expand, ….that the World War II era greatly affected the roles of attracting a larger workforce. Additional housing and women in American society? With many men off to war, other services were in demand, and the “Hill”, “Island” women were recruited to work in industries previously off and the area below Columbia Street experienced limits to them, giving rise to the iconic “Rosie the residential growth. The residents of the “Hill” section of Riveter.” With these new roles, social strictures on women the City exerted sufficient pressure on City fathers to were loosened, including those discouraging them from create a park in what was the old burying grounds. In wearing pants, smoking in public, and patronizing bars.

1890, the City purchased a section of Union Cemetery in ….that cigarettes were also rationed during World War II? Crescent in which to transfer any bodies exhumed in People made their own by rolling tobacco in cigarette converting the cemetery to a park. In 1896 the State papers which were sealed when filled. Legislature formally approved the project and work began in May of that year. ….that Betty Grable was the most popular “pin-up” girl among World War II fighting troops? “Every day three to five hundred people, mostly women, loiter about the old cemetery watching the men at ….that election night 1948 had one of the greatest work.” The Cohoes Republican newspaper reported. political upsets in U.S. history? The next day’s Chicago Quickly it became very apparent, as the men dug into the Tribune with its headline “Dewey Defeats Truman” was earth, why the cemetery had become a potter’s field. The held aloft by a victorious Harry Truman, who had won newspaper gave vivid accounts of some of the daily election in his own right after serving out Franklin activity including how the men unearthed “black slimy Roosevelt’s term. bones of the long buried dead.” ….that Tupperware was introduced in 1945? Cohoes is, in part, built on an abundance of clay - in some places several feet thick. Apparently there was no ….that Golden Krust Bakery began in a tiny storefront on shortage of it in the cemetery. Digging 3 or 4 feet down Pulaski Ave in the 1930s? By 1947 the shop moved the pits became swamp-like, coating the deteriorating pine around the corner to 180 Ontario St.; it eventually grew to include a restaurant and larger baking facilities. boxes and remains with a layer of clay slurry. My search for information has shown that ultimately ….that during World War II, more than ten percent of the 981 bodies were exhumed and 3 left behind. Of the 981, population of Cohoes was in the armed forces? 40 could be identified. Of that 40, 13 went to Oakwood ….that the Spindle City Historic Society is co-sponsoring Cemetery in Troy, 12 to Waterford Rural Cemetery, 7 to an event with the Cohoes Remembers Veterans Albany Rural Cemetery and 8 to Union Cemetery in Committee recalling the history of the World War II era? Crescent. It has to be my assumption then that 941 bodies For more information on this December 7 event, see page were given a mass burial in the Crescent cemetery. (continued on p.8) 8 of this issue.

Remembering the 1940s

On December 8, 1941, the headlines reported the death of 1500 at Pearl Harbor from an attack by Japan. It was the day after the “day that would live in infamy.” A declaration of war by Congress at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt soon followed; the war would profoundly affect the nation throughout the 1940s and into the decades beyond. In the 1940s the United States led the world into the nuclear age and became its major military power. The decade was the beginning of significant social change, some of which would not be fully realized for many years after.

• The attack on Pearl Harbor and declaration of war, and Japanese bombings in the Philippines and across the Pacific mobilized the country. Young men rushed to enlist in the military, and many more were called up to serve through the activation of the draft. This large scale recruitment of young men for military service led to the hiring of an alternate workforce, consisting of women and older men, to perform the jobs the young men had left. Many of these jobs were in heavy industry, positions women had previously not held in significant numbers. Women had always worked in factories, but their work was generally low-paying and concentrated in specific industries (the textile industry, for example), with few supervisory and managerial positions open to them; wartime work gave them the opportunity to learn new skills and earn much higher salaries than before. Women proved effective and capable workers in these non-traditional fields. Although most women left these positions once the war was over, the lessons learned through these experiences were not completely lost and would set the foundation for more permanent social change. The status of women was also advanced by Eleanor Roosevelt, who always sought to encourage women to use their talents in all facets of life and delivered her own address on the night of Pearl Harbor. Women also enlisted during World War II, serving as WACs and WAVEs, performing duties both stateside and overseas in noncombatant roles.

• Civil Defense groups were organized in most communities, with groups trained to deal with potential attacks or invasions. Bomb shelters were established in public buildings and constructed in other locations; a practice that would continue during the Cold War era.

• People were also affected directly by the war through the rationing of consumer goods and other materials needed for the military. Gasoline, butter, sugar, coffee, nylon stockings and cigarettes were all rationed; long lines sometimes formed for the purchase of these items. Cohoesiers generally patronized local markets and groceries, making their purchases at the numerous neighborhood stores throughout the city, including Dziamba’s and Potyrala’s on Ontario Street, Heins’ on Willow Street, Pondillo’s on Van Schaick Island, Klar’s on Columbia Street and Guzek’s on Saratoga Street. Ration books became part of daily life, Victory Gardens were planted to conserve resources, and people collected and recycled tin cans and scrap metal. Most endured these discomforts and minor deprivations with good humor, as they felt part of a collective effort to help the troops and win the Scrap metal collection in front of Cohoes war. City Hall during World War II.

• The Red Cross was also extremely active at home and overseas, with the Cohoes branch of the organization, established in 1917, doing its part. Local fund-raising activities included tag days, community sings, card parties and food sales.

• The USO (United Service Organization) was established to provide entertainment for servicemen. Many of the best-known movie stars and celebrities of the day made trips to the front to entertain the troops, including comedian Bob Hope, Kate Smith, who cheered the soldiers with her rendition of “God Bless America”, and columnist Hedda Hopper, who shared the latest Hollywood gossip with the GIs.

• The news and entertainment of the day was delivered to those at home by radio. Families gathered around nightly to hear President Roosevelt’s “fireside chats”, a constant since the days of the Depression. Popular radio personalities of the time included Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Kay Kyser, and Fibber McGee and Molly. Quiz and game shows also had a wide audience, with “Information Please” and “Truth or Consequences” drawing listeners around the country.

• Movies also drew crowds, and the movie industry supported the war A 1940s photograph of Red Cross members in Cohoes. through its on-screen portrayals of the U.S. armed forces and their enemies. Other films of the era included the adaptation of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, with Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, and Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the now-classic Casablanca. During those days, Cohoesiers could go to the new Cohoes Theater (opened in August 1941), where there was always a double feature, cartoons, a newsreel, and bingo games and giveaways of dishes or other items. Cohoes also had the Regent and Rialto Theaters. Films were shown in the smaller theaters in places like Cohoes after they had a week’s run in both Albany and Troy, first playing in Albany’s Palace Theater, then in Proctor’s in Troy.

• Other stars in the 1940s were Abbott and Costello, James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Lucille Ball, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Bing Crosby, Kay Starr and the Andrews Sisters. Popular tunes of the era included “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” The Big Bands were in full swing, with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and others defining the era. Music was an essential element of night life, with New York City nightclubs such as the Copacabana and the Stork Club popular and trend-setting gathering places.

• Professional sports had its own stars, but would not go unaffected by world affairs. Joe Louis rose to the top in the boxing ring; his defeat of German Max Schmeling a few years earlier was a fight in which symbolism transcended sport. Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams grabbed baseball headlines. Many of the sport’s standouts would trade baseball uniforms for military uniforms, so the leagues played with depleted ranks during the war years. In the first half of 1941, Eddie Arcaro rode Whirlaway to a Triple Crown win.

• Mass communication and the advertising industry were spurred by the development of the new medium of television, which would also be a force in changing patterns of social interaction. At the start of 1945, there were only nine television stations operating in the entire nation; WRGB in Schenectady, on the air 9 hours a week, had the greatest amount of programming at the time. By 1948, there were 172,000 TV sets sold in the country.

• The defining event of the 1940s, World War II, would change the country in ways large and small for decades to come. The Depression that gripped the country ended, and the U.S. developed increased military and industrial power. A new middle class was created due to increased educational opportunity through the G.I. Bill, which opened higher education up to returning servicemen, many of whom were the first in their families to go to college. The immediate postwar years were also a time of growth of consumerism; following the years of the Depression and diversion of resources during the war years, industries retooled to produce automobiles, appliances, and other consumer goods. Off the Top... Albany Rural Cemetery Tour – Fall Edition

There are several days in history on which The summer tour of Albany Rural Cemetery offered people will always remember exactly where they were by SCHS was such a success that another tour was when they heard the news. Most recently, that would arranged. A group gathered on Saturday October 14 have been 9-11. Before that the date would be about 40 for the tour, which followed a different route from years earlier: Kennedy’s assassination. Now we jump the summer tour (with 467 acres of grounds and over back 65 years to Pearl Harbor. Many people may 30 miles of roads and paths, there is much to explore). remember hearing about it, but we have fewer and fewer This tour, like that offered in the summer, included living veterans to whom to pay tribute who actively enjoyment of peak fall foliage and the burial sites of served in World War II. notable Cohoesiers and those with Cohoes On December 7, 2006, the National Park Service and connections. Among these were Joel Rathbone, who the U.S. Navy will host more than 1,500 Pearl Harbor was a business partner in stove manufacturing with survivors from across the nation with a very special Levi Silliman, father of Horace Silliman and founder tribute in their honor. This ceremony will feature of the Presbyterian church in Cohoes; New York State special guest speakers, Morning Colors, wreath presentations, a rifle salute, a Missing Man Flyover and Geologist James Hall, who directed the excavation of other tributes. A National Moment of Silence will be the Cohoes Mastodont; and George H. McDowell, a observed at 7:55 a.m ....the exact moment the Japanese bookkeeper at the National Bank of Cohoes who later attack began 65 years ago at Pearl Harbor. A U.S. Navy became proprietor of the Egbert Woolen Mills and ship will render honors to the USS Arizona. Cascade Mills, which manufactured fine knit

The theme of the program is “A Nation Remembers.” underwear. Tour participants also visited the The ceremony will look directly out to the USS Arizona mausoleum of the Van Benthuysen family. Obadiah Memorial situated in Pearl Harbor approximately half a Van Benthuysen was a printer, publisher and mile away. “A Nation Remembers” will reflect on how inventor of the steam-powered printing press. His the recollection of Pearl Harbor has evolved throughout son Charles was New York State and United States the years since World War II. During the war years, Printer, printing official documents. The Van “Remember Pearl Harbor” became a battle cry for the Benthuysens built a paper mill in Cohoes; the nation, uniting the country to defend democracy and building would later be purchased by the Harmony freedom. Today, “Remember Pearl Harbor” has taken Company and renamed Harmony Mill #4. on a different definition and provides an opportunity for reflection, a study of lessons learned and gratitude towards the Pearl Harbor veterans who served and those of their comrades who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Spindle City Historic Society and the Cohoes Remembers Vets are doing their share to remember our World War II veterans. The Cohoes Remembers Vets will have programs on December 7th and the Spindle City Historic Society will open a retrospective of both photos and news that focuses on World War II and the impact it had on Cohoes. The exhibit will be available through the holidays.

Keep your eyes and ears opened about our future lectures, exhibits, events and tours. Donations of photographs, memorabilia and artifacts have been coming in for our growing collection. The SCHS is grateful for these contributions. Our regular meetings are the last Wednesday of the month at 7 PM (except December due to the holidays) in the Cohoes Visitor’s Center. I hope to see each one of you at a meeting or an event. Let’s keep memories and history of Cohoes alive!

Have a memorable and safe holiday season. Visits were also made to gravesites of other notables,

Paul D. Dunleavy including historian, printer and author Joel Munsell, President James H. Armsby, co-founder (with Alden March Ford was convinced by his close associate Thomas [visited on the summer tour]) of Albany Medical Edison (the foremost proponent of direct current) that College, noted Albany architect Marcus T. Reynolds DC was preferable for running his auto factory so the (who designed the D&H Building at the foot of State plant was originally designed to generate direct Street, among other landmark structures), pioneering current; it was later converted to alternating current. 19th century The plant, still generating power today, has four geologist Ebenezer turbines, each spinning at 80 revolutions per minute Emmons (who and generating about 1,500 kilowatts of electricity. At named the the time they were installed, the vertical propeller Adirondacks, and turbines in the hydropower plant were the largest of wrote extensively their type in the world. on New York State’s natural history and agriculture), sculptor Charles Calverly (who created the Robert Burns statue in Washington Park), horticulturist Louis Menand (for whom Menands is named), and Janet G. Travell (Powell), who was the first female and first civilian appointed Physician to the President of the

United States, serving as physician for John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. A view down the generator hall. The hydroelectric turbines are located underneath each generator, about 20 feet below Tour of Green Island Hydroelectric Station the floor.

Gateway Gala

On October 19, the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway held its annual Gala reception in Harmony Mill #3 in Cohoes. The Gateway honored those involved in the revitalization of North Mohawk Street in its annual recognition of individuals and organizations involved in preserving the industrial history of the region and the historic character of communities in the Gateway, which includes Troy, Cohoes, Green Island, Waterford and Watervliet. Among this year’s honorees were Uri Kaufman, who is converting Harmony Mill #3 into loft apartments, architect Peter Seidner, and Mayor John McDonald Jim Besha explains the workings and history of the Green and the City of Cohoes. The Spindle City Historic Island hydroelectric plant. Society was also honored for the work some of its

On November 4 a group of SCHS members visited members did in developing interpretive signage for the historic Green Island Hydroelectric Station. The Power Canal Park; reproductions of these signs were hydropower plant was built in 1922 by Henry Ford to on display during the reception. This was the first provide power to the adjacent (now demolished) time that the Gateway has selected honorees from the Ford Motor Company plant. The power plant was west side of the Hudson River. It is hoped that this designed by famed industrial architect Albert Kahn, honor will foster greater interest in historic who designed numerous buildings for Ford. Henry preservation and adaptive reuse in the city of Cohoes. A Brief History of Cohoes Company B

The forerunner of Company B was organized on December 1, 1875 when a group of Cohoesiers gathered around a pot-bellied stove decided to form a National Guard unit. The group, eventually consisting of 100 members, was accepted in February 1876 as the Third Separate Company of the 10th Brigade and Third Division. The company was first called to duty in July 1877 during a railroad strike in Troy. In 1898 the unit became known as Company B of the Second Regiment and 109 men volunteered for service in the war against Spain. The declaration of war was on April 25, 1898 and Company B was called into service on May 20, 1898. Company B never saw action but was sent to Florida, and then to Cuba. The company suffered 32 casualties, primarily due to typhoid fever and other illnesses contracted in conditions of excessive heat with a lack of sanitary facilities. They returned home in late summer, arriving by train in Troy on August 27, 1898. 1916 saw WWI begin to intensify and the governor ordered the company recruited to war strength for border service in Texas. Their return home was very brief and by March 25, 1917 the company was activated by Woodrow Wilson for training at Little Falls. While in Little Falls, they guarded the canal and railroad against sabotage. On October 1, 1917 they became part of the 105th infantry and they sailed from Norfolk, Virginia to France on May 17 on the U.S.S. Grant, arriving in Brest on Decoration (Memorial) Day. They went for Soldiers pose in front of the Cohoes Armory in 1917, as the men prepare training at Mount Kemmel, near to fight in World War I. They distinguished themselves in battle, winning Ypres. By July a portion of the most of the honors given by the U.S. and receiving recognition from company was at the front in the foreign governments as well. Dischenbusch Lake area of Belgium, getting a taste of “Flanders mud”; other units were at Scherpenberg on the north face of Lys Salient. Two men in the company earned the Distinguished Service Medal. From there they were directed to another sector and told to storm the Hindenberg Line. The early morning of September 29 was a time of crisis; after having been under fire all night, with only 42 men remaining, they went “over the top” and again distinguished themselves as part of the division attack that broke the Hindenberg Line. The following men earned the Distinguished Service Medal for their actions on that day: Sgt 1/c Edward T. Ruane (the American Legion post in Cohoes was later named after him), Sgt. Boykin, Pvt. M.J. Murphy and Pvt. S.J. Howland. Sgt. Ruane would later be killed in action at Busigny, France on October 16, 1918. The war’s toll on company B included 29 killed and 103 wounded; 53 soldiers escaped injury and 18 were transferred. Surviving soldiers recuperated at a rest camp and then returned home, arriving in Hoboken on March 25, 1919.

Twenty years of peacetime training following WW I ended abruptly in the 1940s, when the company was again called to war. They were given jungle training at Fort McClellan in Alabama, and then sent to Camp Haan in California and on to Fort Ord for more intense training. They left for Hawaii on March 10, 1942 to fight in the Pacific. Company B remained in Hawaii waiting for the expected assault, and in November went to a location near Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu for additional jungle training. From there, 200 non- commissioned officers and others left the 105th Regiment for the mainland to help reactivate the 42nd Rainbow Division, but were instead assigned to the 11th Airborne Division. The company, part of the 27th division, joined the fighting in Siapan on July 6, 1944. At the time of the Saipan invasion, the 27th Division consisted of three infantry regiments: the 105th Regiment, the 106th Infantry Regiment from the Albany- Schenectady-Utica area and the 165th Infantry Regiment from the New York City area. The 105th suffered 57 casualties, including two company commanders, and within a few hours six out of every seven men were wounded. Company B then moved on to the assault at Okinawa and was among the first landing waves on April 11, 1945. Fighting continued through the summer; 56 more men were lost, but Okinawa was secured. Members of the 105th also participated in the attack on the Gilbert Islands, and battles at Makin, Eniwetok, the Marianas, Garapan, Tanapay and Majuro. Members of Company B received many awards for distinguished service, including three Congressional The Cohoesiers in company B, 2nd regiment, NY National Medals of Honor and the Distinguished Guard pose for the camera at Camp Smith in Peekskill on July Unit Citation. On September 6 the 3, 1945. In first row: second from left - Brisson, third from left company left for Japan, and were among – LaMora, fifth from left – Hebert. In second row: fourth from the first troops in occupied Japan. Sgt. left – Opalka, sixth from left – Keeler, eleventh from left – 1/c Edward Morris was the last original Smith, twelfth from left – Perry, thirteenth from left – Gratten. member to leave the company; he was discharged on September 15, 1945 and became a supply sergeant at the Cohoes Armory. Of the 99 men in the company who served in World War II, twelve lost their lives in the war.

The company was reactivated on March 15, 1947 and maintained residence in the Armory until 1964. The last unit to occupy the Armory was the direct support platoon Headquarters Company 727 Maintenance Battalion. They were then transferred to Troy. The Armory was purchased by Oscar Cramer in 1972 and converted into a commercial retail space known as Cramer’s Armory. Cramer’s, which sold uniforms and other types of clothing and shoes, occupied the armory until 1997, when the business was sold and moved out of Cohoes. The Armory remains a landmark in the city, recalling the long and distinguished history of Company B.

ÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕÕ

Spindle City Historic Society Membership Application

www.timesunion.com/communities/spindlecity www.spindlecity.net President - Paul Dunleavy First Vice President - Daniele Cherniak Second Vice President - Tor Shekerjian Secretary - Linda C. Christopher Treasurer - June Cherniak

___Individual Membership $10.00 ___Institutional Membership $25.00 ___Senior Citizen Membership $ 5.00 ___Contributing Membership $35.00 ___Student Membership $ 5.00 ___Sustaining Membership $50.00 ___Family Membership $15.00

We have great things planned in our home in the Cohoes Visitor's Center! Please help if you can with an additional donation to support our upcoming programs: ___ $5.00 ___ $10.00 ___ other

NAME______ADDRESS______CITY______STATE______ZIP CODE______TELEPHONE______E-mail ______

Mail completed form with membership fee, payable to Spindle City Historic Society, to: June Cherniak, Treasurer, 415 Vliet Boulevard, Cohoes, NY 12047

Historian’s Notebook (continued from p.1) As a postscript, and to compound this depressing tale, in 1968 the Union Cemetery Board of Trustees notified Mayor James McDonald that the City of Cohoes was behind in the payment of their annual upkeep annuity of twenty-two dollars for minimal maintenance. The City had been negligent since 1952. The Mayor’s response was: “I can’t see why we should pay this money annually when we aren’t getting any use of it.”

Today those hallowed grounds are a forgotten disgrace.

Walter Lipka

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, December 7 – Remembering the World War II Era, at home and at war. The event will feature presentations by World War II veterans, an exhibit of newspapers and memorabilia from the period and WW II photographs, including work of photographer Haig Shekerjian. We also welcome recollections and photographs of the period from any who wish to share their own memories. Co-sponsored by Cohoes Remembers Veterans Committee. Cohoes Visitor's Center.

Wednesday, January 31 - Spindle City Historic Society meeting. 7 p.m., Cohoes Visitor's Center.

Wednesday, February 28 - Spindle City Historic Society meeting. 7 p.m., Cohoes Visitor's Center.

Wednesday, March 28 - Spindle City Historic Society meeting. 7 p.m., Cohoes Visitor's Center.

Wednesday, April 25 - Spindle City Historic Society meeting. 7 p.m., Cohoes Visitor's Center.

EFGD

[ Many thanks to La Fédération Franco-Américaine du New York \ [ for sponsoring this issue of our newsletter \

Photo credits this issue: Walter Cherniak, Paul Dunleavy, Tor Shekerjian

[ SCHS Newsletter Staff \

Daniele Cherniak ~ June Cherniak ~ Linda Christopher ~ Dennis Rivage

Editorial Assistance: Tor Shekerjian ~ Columnists: Paul Dunleavy, Walter Lipka

Spindle City Historic Society P.O. Box 375 Cohoes, New York 12047